GlobalGig goes 4G in Australia and UK, expands plans to match

Not everyone needs a voice plan, and if you’re an avid Snapchatter, Tweeter, Facebook fiend, or just heading overseas and can do without the regular phone calls, GlobalGig is now delivering 4G access provided you’re in the right place.

The “right place” to get 4G using GlobalGig will include both Australia and the UK, with more places to come, as this week the company launches 4G officially on its system, a different option against the regulars of Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone.

“We’ve come a long way from the company that just over two years ago offered mobile broadband in three countries,” said GlobalGig’s General Manager James Boardman.

“Our goal has always been to challenge the unfair pricing of certain telcos and mobile broadband providers and we continue to do just that. Our fundamentals have remained the same – low cost mobile broadband in Australia, low cost mobile broadband overseas, no lock-in contracts and no bill shock.”

GlobalGig’s 4G will take advantage of the Optus 4G network, and right now, that includes access across Australia, while the connection to 4G in the UK has also been signed. GlobalGig did tell GadgetGuy that other 4G connections overseas were coming, but that a lot of its traffic was Australian, with roughly 80 percent of GlobalGig traffic taking place in this country.

Locally, GlobalGig could be providing the big boys some competition with lower cost mobile broadband data pricing, similar to the lower cost options we’ve seen from other telco options, including Amaysim, Aldi Mobile, and Vaya, which all compete with the big boys in the same way.

A tri-SIM is included in the GlobalGig card, providing all three common SIM formats on the one card. Neato.

For this announcement, GlobalGig sends word that it will also be changing its plans, simplifying to three with a “4G Flexi” plan included just for use in Australia starting at $5 per month and offering 250MB data, with other options providing 1GB for $10, 3GB for $20, 5GB for $30, and 10GB for $50 per month, with extra costs if you take it outside to use overseas.

If you’re heading to Europe and America specifically, GlobalGig will have a plan for that, too, offering 250MB for $20, 1GB for $30, 3GB for $50, 5GB for $70, and 10GB for $100, while the third plan will be for use in 70 countries supported by the network, with 250MB going for $30, 1GB for $50, 3GB for $100, and 5GB for $170.

From what we understand, however, most of these places will send data along the 3G network, with GlobalGig’s 4G network providing LTE access only in Australia and the UK at the time this was announced, though expect this to change as time goes on.

We do need to stress that none of these plans include phone or SMS access, being data only, however, so make sure to check if you can live without the phone calls or text messaging before going with a GlobalGig plan.

GlobalGig’s SIM cards are available now in retail outlets across the country in a “tri-SIM” packing, a variant of the SIM card allowing you to push out the right SIM for your device, supporting mini-, micro- and nano-SIM.